


The Dog Days Aren't Over

by bmcbapej



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Post-Pitch Perfect 3, not really sure what I just wrote but Happy Lunar New Year guys, shifter!chloe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-03-19 12:09:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13704183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bmcbapej/pseuds/bmcbapej
Summary: Chloe loved everything about Beca. Well, almost everything. If she could, the only two things she would change were: Beca’s dislike for dogs and her title of best friend (girlfriend rolled off the tongue so much better).





	The Dog Days Aren't Over

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Lunar New Year! For anyone that doesn't know, it's the Year of the Dog. A bunch of half-baked dog-shifter!Bechloe plots have been sitting in my notes for a while and it seemed appropriate to ring in the new year by actually writing one of them. It's almost 4 in the morning where I am right now, so I hope this makes sense and that you all enjoy it :)

Chloe was a dog person. Not just in the way that most people were when they said this, she was _literally_ a dog person. As in, her 5’ 4” tall human body was able to turn into a 5’ 4” long canine at will. Shifting was a genetic ability that had an infrequent but long history in the Beale family. Chloe had won the recessive lottery so to speak, and managed to become the first Beale in three generations to be able to shift into a beast of a wolfhound with fur as red as her hair (something which prompted her little sister Eliza to jokingly call her Clifford).

There were definitely disadvantages to this unique trait. Don’t get her wrong, Chloe loved being a shifter – it was an honour that came with a proud history and she wouldn’t give it up for the world. It was just irritatingly inconvenient at times. For example, her limited colour vision made getting dressed in what the average person would consider fashionable combinations a challenge. There was also that one time she had gotten lost in an Ikea store (her spatial memory wasn’t great) and decided to find her way out by following another person’s scent – a person who later turned out to be an employee patrolling the shop floor. Her most pressing problem right now was how exactly she was going to tell her best friend about this. The same best friend she may or may not be secretly in love with and who was _not_ a dog person, in all senses of the phrase.

Beca’s dislike for dogs wasn’t something they had ever actually discussed, but for Chloe who considered herself an expert in reading people, it was plain as day. Whenever they encountered any furry friends on the street and Chloe would stop to pet and coo over them, Beca would simply stand back disinterestedly and wait for her to be done. During one particular movie night at the Bellas’ house, it was Jessica’s turn to pick and she had chosen _‘Marley & Me’_ and Beca had refused point blank to sit through it. Whilst it was routine for Beca to grumpily complain about the movie and insert sarcastic commentary throughout, she usually was at least present for the sake of the other Bellas (she had begrudgingly sat through everything else which included the entire _Twilight_ franchise as well as _Justin Bieber’s Believe_ ). When Chloe had come home talking about how she wished she could adopt one of the dogs at the shelter she sometimes volunteered at, Beca was quick to bring up all the logistical problems with that idea (even if all her points were valid: their Brooklyn apartment was too small, they both worked/studied long hours, and their other roommate Fat Amy wasn’t exactly a responsible pet owner).

It was with this in mind that Chloe knew she was in deep trouble. She had shifted in her sleep and couldn’t turn back. Her control over her phasing was usually impeccable, she hadn’t had an accidental shift since she was 9 or 10 years old. Unfortunately, her physical health had taken a nosedive over the past week due to a sudden but severe bout of the flu. Chloe had been bedridden for days and there were definite gaps in her memory from all the cold medicine she had consumed. She spent her rare moments of lucidity concentrating on suppressing any urge to phase and she knows for sure prior to today that it had worked (there would have been fur all over her bed if that weren’t the case).

The major problem with accidental shifts was because she didn’t consciously decide to phase, she couldn’t consciously phase back. Her body would change back in time. Time that Chloe did not have. Beca had taken the past four days off work to look after Chloe but was asked to come in today to catch up on everything she had missed. It had taken a lot of persuading on her part to convince the girl that she was well enough to look after herself, but she knew that Beca would still rush back home as soon as the work day was over. Which meant she was due back any minute now.

There wasn’t anywhere large enough for her to hide in the apartment even with Amy currently gone (‘ _Fat Amy Winehouse_ ’ was doing its first national tour) so Chloe had to resort to the next best thing - pretending there was supposed to be a dog in the apartment. On the bright side, Chloe had napped in the nude (not wanting to potentially sweat through any shirts) which meant she didn’t have to attempt to take off her clothes in dog form. She made her way over to the tv remote and pressed the on button with her nose. Jumping up onto the couch, she made herself comfortable and tried to concentrate on whatever the chefs were currently cooking on the Food Network.

The rattle of the keys in the lock signalled Beca’s arrival home. It also awoke Chloe who had drifted off to sleep again on the couch. _Aca-argh, I still haven’t shifted back._ As Beca entered the apartment, Chloe’s keen ears picked up on the girl’s quiet sniffles. She soon wasn’t going to be the only sick person in the residence if her suspicions were correct.

“Chloe?” Beca’s question with met with nothing but silence. “Chloe? Are you asleep?” The sound of keys hitting the counter followed by approaching footsteps made her heartbeat speed up. “Honestly, how many times have I told her about leaving the- HOLY CRAP.” Catching sight of Chloe, Beca had jerked backwards in surprise and tripped on the rug. Worried about Beca who was now on the floor, she leapt off the couch and tried to see if the girl was okay.

“WHY IS THERE A DOG IN HERE?” The uncharacteristically high-pitched shout grated on her ears and she couldn’t stop herself from letting out a whine. “Oh hey, sorry girl, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Before she could register what was even happening, Beca had sat up and was scratching her right behind the ears. _Oh, oh, this feels really good._

“Why did Chloe leave you all alone in a cramped place like this.” Beca frowned as she looked around. “She didn’t even leave any water out for you.” Whilst continuing to stroke Chloe with her right hand, Beca retrieved her phone out of her jacket with her left. Thumbing her way through her contacts, Chloe could see her frown deepen once ringing began to echo from the other end of the apartment.

Chloe let out another small whine as Beca stopped her petting in order to stand up. “Come on, let’s get you something to eat and drink.” Following, her into the kitchen, Chloe watched as she took out a bowl and plate from the cupboard. Waiting for the bowl to fill with tap water, Beca made another call. She put the phone on the countertop and turned on the loudspeaker right before the recipient picked up.

“Aubrey Posen’s phone.”

“Stacie? Why are you answering Aubrey’s phone?”

“She’s in the shower right now, did you need something? Wait, before you answer that, how’d Valentine’s Day go?” Chloe sat down in confusion, ignoring the bowl of water being placed beside her. _Beca didn’t have any Valentine’s Day plans._

“Forget that right now, Chloe’s missing.”

“What?!”

“She’s supposed to be in bed resting but when I came home she wasn’t there. I was hoping maybe Aubrey knew where she went. Her phone’s still here and there’s no note. The only thing she’s left behind is this humungous Irish wolfhound.” Chloe was impressed that Beca was able to accurately identify the breed of her canine half. The scent of meat filled her nostrils as Beca pulled out a fresh leg of ham from the fridge.

“We haven’t heard anything from her. All we know is just what you’ve been telling us about her fever. You said she was feeling better yesterday, didn’t you? Maybe she went for a walk, I can’t imagine being stuck indoors for a whole week unless it was due to mind-numbingly awesome sex. Wait, why would Chloe leave a dog unattended in your apartment? She knows you hate dogs.”

“I don’t hate dogs.” Chloe’s ears perked up and she could feel her tail wagging out of its own accord. Noticing the change in her demeanour, Beca laughed quietly and muttered to her, “Let me finish cutting it first. You can’t eat all of this, Chloe would kill me.”

“Are you sure about that? When Ashley had to pet-sit that weekend where she brought the Labrador to the Bella House, you pulled a double shift at the radio station, slept over at Jesse’s place and then actually went to all your classes for the first time ever. You were wearing the same clothes as the night before!”

“Okay, I can see how that looks but I seriously don’t hate dogs. It’s just... complicated.” Of course it was complicated. Nothing about Beca was ever simple. It was one of the many things Chloe loved about her, she had layers and an amazing amount of depth that a lot of people weren’t fortunate enough to pick up on. She knew Beca was being completely honest right now, even if Chloe wasn’t an expert in reading Beca’s body language and tone of voice, the fact that she was being served a plate full of Beca’s favourite part of the ham said enough. She couldn’t in good conscious eat it though (plus food just didn’t taste as good in her canine form as it did in her human form).

“I swear Shawty, you make everything more complicated than it should be. I bet you didn’t even end up confessing to Chloe that you loved her.” She’s glad she hadn’t been eating because she’s sure she would have started choking if she was.

“I did!” _Aca-scuse me when was this?!_ “She just poked me in the nose, rolled over and went to sleep!”

“That was probably the fever responding. You’re supposed to tell her when she’s actually aware of her surroundings.”  _You tell her, Stacie!_

“I don’t know Stace. What if she doesn’t feel the same way.” She let out a deep bark that she hoped sounded like disagreement.

“A blind man can see you’re both equally as lovesick as each other. The sexual tension between you two riles me up – and not in the good way. The day she knowingly turns you down is the day I decide to become a nun.”

“Alright! As soon as she gets back I’ll tell her.” The determined look on Beca’s face was the most intense Chloe had ever seen it.

“Then my work here is done. Let us know if you don’t hear from her in a couple hours, though. It’s probably nothing but keep us posted, okay?”

“Roger. Thanks Stacie.”

After hanging up the phone, Beca began to pace back and forth so fast that it was starting to make Chloe a bit dizzy. “I’m gonna do it! When she walks in I’m gonna tell her: ‘Chloe, we’ve known each other for over seven years now and those have been the best seven years of my life. And if I can, I want to spend the rest of my life with you because I love you.’” Satisfied with her resolution, Beca stopped her pacing and turned around. Then she screamed.

Chloe whipped behind her, trying to identify the source of Beca’s distress but could see nothing except the kitchen wallpaper. She turned back around and asked, “What’s wrong?” _Wait._ Chloe froze as she realised she had shifted back in her human form. Her naked human form.  _Oh boy._

“Hey there. So, we have a lot to talk about, but can we just start with the whole love thing first.”

“You…dog…what…” Chloe lurched forward as Beca’s eyes began to roll back, catching her mid-faint. It was going to be a long night without a doubt, but Chloe was sure it was going to turn out fine. This was totally going to be her year.

**Author's Note:**

> Also, if any of you guys follow my other two ongoing fics I should hopefully have updates for both of them some time after the weekend (I'll be busy visiting family in the meantime)


End file.
